back to the queen
by hannahkate217
Summary: After Emma is pushed into a portal and brought to pre-curse fairytale world, she comes across a familiar woman. However, whilst she thinks she knows Regina, she still has no idea what will happen when the evil queen takes this strange blonde woman back to her castle.
1. Chapter 1

Emma Swan was lost. After being pushed through a portal to pre-curse fairytale world, she had found herself laying on the ground, her body aching and her mind spinning.

'Holy crap,' Emma said as she opened her eyes to see only tree tops.  
She was hoping for a cottage, anything really, but instead found herself in some forest. I mean, this place was called the enchanted forest, but she still felt bitter disappointment.

After a moment of letting her eyes sting from tears and feeling a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she pulled herself onto her feet, shook her 'stupid over emotional' self off, and took another good look around.

There were trees. That was all she could see, and it scared her to bits. What if this was the infinite forest? She also shook that thought off - she had some of her parents faith, and knew that, despite being trapped in a different land in a different time, that there was always hope.

Looking down at herself, Emma brushed off some of the mud she had picked up from the ground, and as she was brushing down her skinny jeans and red leather jacket, she swore she saw something in the corner of her eye. She stopped what she was doing, and looked up. In the nearby distance, she could see two people - one tall, one short - walking through the forest together. Emma knew she needed to take this risk if she wanted any more hope of getting out of her, so she followed her instincts and walked slowly and quietly towards the two strangers.

Stepping through the forest, trying not to tread on any branches, Emma soon realised it was a woman and a small red headed child. The child wasn't familiar to her, but Emma swore there was something about this woman, she was almost certain she knew her.  
The woman was walking in front of the child, apparently leading him somewhere, and Emma got the feeling she shouldn't surprise them. She just wished they'd turn for just a second, so she could see the woman's face, and know for sure it was who she suspected.

_Thud._ The woman quickly whipped herself around, her glaring eyes searching for the one responsible for the noise. She was in no mood for lurking strangers today.  
Emma, completely mortified, picked herself up after tripping on some twigs, and stared right into the face of the woman.  
They held stare for a few moments, long enough for Emma to know exactly who this was. A magnificent black outfit, long dark hair, a deep red perfect pout and those oh so familiar brown eyes. This was pre-curse Regina - the evil queen.

'Who are you,' the queen's voice rung out, 'and what are you doing in my forest?'  
The queen's glare held Emma's, and it took all Emma could not to run. She knew that this wasn't the mayor, this was a person who took no hesitation in murder, but she also knew that she could get through to the Regina she did know, so she stayed routed to her spot.  
Before Emma had chance to speak, the queen raised her hand, sending Emma flying backwards into a tree, and with another wave, branches started to entrap Emma into the tree, making it so she could barely move.

Regina, after putting a spell on the boy's feet (presumably to make him not run away), started walking towards Emma, glaring at the strange blonde as she did so.  
'I said, who are you?' she spoke, now mere meters away from Emma.  
Emma, knowing the best chance of escaping this tree was to accommodate the queen and answer her questions, said, 'Regina, it's me, you know me, it's...' but she trailed off, not knowing whether or not to give her real name. Couldn't that change the future? Then again, maybe just being here could.  
'Excuse me?' the queen said, laughing, 'I think I know who I know better than a poor lost girl wandering my forest, and I certainly haven't met you before. I would have remembered,' Regina said, taking a moment to let her stare stray from the blonde's eyes and look her up and down.

'Regina, please, I know you don't think you know me but we need to talk.' Emma gushed, not knowing what in the world she was supposed to say.  
'Is that really a way to address royalty?' the queen said, raising one eyebrow into a perfect arch. 'However, today may just be your lucky day.'  
Emma didn't really know what that meant, but hoped it had something to do with being able to talk and convince the queen she did in fact know her. She watched as Regina put her hand into a pocket, pulled out some kind of dust and - stepping even closer to Emma - blew it over her face.  
Before Emma had time to think about what substance Regina was blowing on her face, she was out cold.


	2. Chapter 2

Once more Emma found herself lying down on her back, only this time when she opened her eyes, rather than seeing forest trees, she saw a ceiling. Feeling slightly dazed, she sat up on the bench she was on and took in her surroundings.

'Really?' Emma groaned, raising a hand to her forehead (she still felt dizzy).  
She was in was appeared to be a prison, with nothing but a bench in the small, dark room and huge bars right in front of her.  
She got to her feet and walked over to the bars, holding two in each hand, 'hello?!'  
Emma was starting to feel inpatient, despite only being awake in the cell for barely a minute, 'Regina?!'

The absurdity of the situation then dawned on her - this wasn't Regina. She couldn't just throw some witty comments her way or take turns in making a cruel, yet never long lasting, 'move'.  
Emma now dropped her head and placed it between two bars and tried to think of a way to get Regina to help her out of this mess, but after a few minutes of going over everything, she realised transcending a realm and traveling through time might just be out of queen Regina's reach, no matter how powerful she was.  
After a couple of minutes of standing silently, attempting to wrap her head around what what going on and what could happen, Emma heard footsteps. She looked up to see what looked like a guard heading her way.

'Uh, excuse me? Can I see Reg... the queen? I need to talk to her,' Emma said, starting to frown when the guard pulled out a large key and started unlocking her cell - surely it couldn't be that easy?

'Follow me,' the guard said in a rough voice.

After staring at the guard for a moment, Emma did as he said and started to follow him, thankful to not have to waste any more time sitting in the cold cell.  
Leaving the hallway which lead to the prisons, she felt a significant change in temperature - the new warmth she was also thankful for. She took in the castle as she walked along behind the guard; the statues, the guards situated in random rooms and hallways, the tall ceilings. Eventually the guard came to a halt, 'the queen wishes to see you, right through there.'

She wasn't quite sure why, but she started to shake in anticipation. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest and was pretty sure if others stood close enough they would hear it, too. She'd never been frightened of Regina, but, as she kept having to remind herself, she wasn't the Regina she knew.  
The room was large, and whilst holding a certain elegance, also gave a rather depressing feel. Emma wondered if Regina lived here alone, with no one but her guards for company.  
She spotted her on the other side of the room, looking into a hand-held mirror. This time she was wearing a deep blue, fitted satin outfit which clung to her body, with her dark hair falling down her back. Emma couldn't help thinking about how different she looked here - she finally looked like the evil queen everybody kept talking about. Instead of being filled with sudden hatred and realising how truly evil this woman was, however, Emma felt a slight pull in her stomach, This was both an evil, mysterious stranger and the Regina she'd come to know since entering Storybrooke - it almost felt wrong for Emma to be in her presence, as if it was a taboo for her to see Regina like this.

'Your majesty?' Emma said, putting more confidence into her voice than she actually felt.

Regina looked over her shoulder, her wine red lips forming a slight smile, whilst her eyes remained cool and glaring. After placing the mirror down, she fully turned to face Emma, and took a moment to take her in once more, as if Emma had at least changed. But she was still in the same red jacket and jeans as before, her hair still in their messy blonde curls.  
Emma then wondered if the queen constantly changed her clothes, just because she could.  
After a moment of no word from Regina, Emma asked, 'you wanted to see me?'

'Indeed I did,' the queen said, walking over to a table where two glasses and a bottle of what looked like wine sat. Emma watched as she poured the drink, the dark red liquid filling each glass almost to the brim. She then picked them both up, walked with her perfect grace over to Emma, and then handed her one of the drinks.

'What, no apple cider?' Emma said without thinking.

The queen merely raised her eyebrows, but didn't bother to answer.  
'You're here to simply kill my curiosity,' Regina said, staring at Emma then taking a sip of her drink.

Emma, after taking two large gulps, replied, 'are you serious?'  
A smile crept on the queen's face, and she looked at the blonde stranger with even more curiosity in her eyes.

'You shall tell me your name, where you have come from, and what you were doing in my forest,' the queen spoke, a certain authority lingering in her tone.

Before Emma could reply, the queen had turned her back and walked to the other side of the room, then took a place on a long, cushioned seat. She gestured to the one opposite, so Emma followed her and sat down, glad to be being treated like a guest rather than a prisoner (although she was sure she was the latter).

'Well, my names...' Emma paused, wondering if she should be real with the queen. 'Emma,' she finished.

She figured the past was already written - she couldn't exactly change it just by meeting Regina before they actually met. This made Emma realise Regina might have known her all along, and this confused her.

'I'm from a little town named Storybrooke, and I was in your forest because I woke up there, I was - am - lost,' she said, looking at Regina, who was simply looking back with a certain air of curiosity still surrounding her, but also with a half sarcastic smile on her face. It was as if nothing really phased her, she said she wanted to know but didn't really seem to care about much.

Emma thought of _her_ Regina, with shorter her and somewhat more emotion. Only then did she realise just how complicated this woman really was, how many transitions she had been through. Mary-Margaret had even mentioned that once upon a time, long ago, she had been kind and loving.

'Storybrooke?' the queen said with a half laugh, 'and where on earth is this place?'

'Uh...' Emma started, wondering how much the queen would believe, 'it's pretty far from here.'  
Emma drunk more of her wine, not knowing whether it was that or the fact she was just getting more used to the situation that eased her previous nerves.

'Well then, I can't possibly punish you for being lost, can I?' the queen said, a sarcastic smile in her voice.  
Emma was confused, she didn't know whether this Regina liked her (or at least, could stand her) or was just toying with her before ripping out her heart. She remembered her first meeting with Regina, how then too she had offered Emma a drink and had been civil. She also remembered the next time, where she threatened to destroy her if it was the last thing she did - this woman was pretty extreme.

'I kind of need to get home though, I've lost all my family, my parents, my - yours, well my, son,' Emma said quickly, realising even if she simply said 'my' the queen wouldn't care - she didn't yet know Henry.

'How tragic,' the queen said in a monotonous voice, apparently overlooking the slip up of 'yours', and also not caring that this woman had lost everything.  
'Another?' she said, getting up and taking the empty glass out of Emma's hand (she had just realised she had drunk it all - pretty quickly, at that).

'Sure,' Emma said, watching Regina refill then sit back down.

'Look, I know I'm just some stranger to you, but something... weird has happened,' Emma said, starting to realise the only way out of this place was to be honest with one of the only people who could help her, 'but if I told you, you wouldn't believe me.'

The queen raised one eyebrow, 'go on.'

'I'm kinda from... a different time. The future, in a different land,' Emma said, staring at the queen and waiting for a reply.

'Oh?' the queen said after a few moments, 'and you want me to help you return?'

'Uh, yeah, that would be good,' Emma said, frowning slightly. She was surprised the queen didn't just throw her in a dungeon for blatant lies.  
'Regina, I know this is a lot to take in, but I know yo-'

The queen held up her hand, stopping Emma. She picked up her mirror from before and looked into it, apparently transfixed by what it was showing.  
She did this for a while, so Emma simply sat silently, drinking her wine, and by the time Regina looked up from her mirror, her glass was empty and Emma was feeling a little dizzy, although this time not from jumping through worlds.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma noticed that Regina was wearing a frown, and hoped that whatever she was angry about wouldn't affect the almost decency the queen was showing her. She wondered why she was shown any at all, she could have very easily left her in the forest or even in the prison.  
A couple more moments past of Emma sitting with an empty glass and a slightly spinning head staring at the queen before she looked up from her mirror, and a beautiful, yet probably fake, smile appeared.

'Emma, right? Why don't you pour yourself another drink whilst I deal with some matters,' she said, standing up and walking to another mirror, this one fixed on a wall.

'Okay,' Emma said, raising her eyebrows. She felt like she was treading on egg shells, and any moment she would do something to piss the evil queen off.  
As Emma filled up her glass, she started thinking about home. She knew she needed to do something, and usually she'd search for an answer right away, but for that moment she didn't mind getting another drink and sitting back down, waiting for Regina to finish whatever it is she wanted to do.

'So if it wasn't for Prince Charming, Snow White would be a murderer, and I dead?' Emma heard the queen say.  
She turned to see she was talking to a mirror. Huh, Emma thought, so the mirror from the fairytale actually did exist. She wondered if she ever asked it who the fairest one of all was. Emma let out a little laugh at the thought, imagining Regina being self conscious about her image and consulting with a talking mirror.

'Yes, your time to act would be now, they seem more in love than ever,' the mirror replied.  
This time Emma laughed a little more, and realised by this point she'd already drank half of her third glass. This confused her, as usually she was able to handle her drink, but now she already felt tipsy (or maybe a little drunk) after only a few glasses. Then again, the wine did taste pretty strong.  
Emma shook her head, trying to think a little more clearly - had the queen said Snow White would be a murderer? What was that about? Whilst Emma sat there contemplating what the mirror and the queen could be talking about, Regina came back to sit opposite Emma.

'Cool mirror,' Emma said.  
The queen frowned slightly, which quickly turned to a smile, 'just an old friend.'

'So, uh, Snow, she tried to kill you?' Emma asked, realising this probably wasn't the best thing to bring up if she wanted the queen to stay happy so she may help Emma.

'That is nothing that concerns you,' the queen said coldly, losing her smile instantly.

'Sorry. I didn't mean to- sorry. I just... Regina why am I here? You could just lock me up or-'

'-you're here because you were on my grounds, and therefore you belong to me,' the queen replied cooly.

'People don't belong to people,' Emma replied bluntly, instantly regretting it. She started playing with her hair, feeling the nerves creep back.

The queen gave a small laugh, 'Do you forget who you are talking to?'

'No I just, I'm sorry your majesty,' Emma drank some more of her drink, 'I just want to know, are you going to keep me here? Because I really just want to get home and I don't even know how I'm going to do that and I don't mind being here, I don't, I just don't want to be killed or somethi-'

'-stop talking,' Regina said, staring blankly ahead.

Emma hoped she hadn't blown it. She looked at the queen, wondering what she could possibly say to get in her good books. She was too perfect, too well spoken and knew exactly what she wanted, and Emma had no idea how to act that way, especially now she'd finished her third glass. She felt, for the first time since she could remember, intimidated. She had never felt that way with the Regina she knew, and she wondered why Regina never acted this cold with her in Storybrooke. The Regina at home would act the same way as Emma, coming after her time and time again and taking time to tease her, but this Regina wouldn't bother with things she didn't actually care about, and only saw others (usually prisoners) as nothing. If Emma pissed this Regina - the evil queen - off, she knew, instead of doing a petty frame job or shouting at her, she'd just be thrown in a cell or murdered.

'Regina I know you,' Emma whispered, not knowing what else to say.  
She felt longing in her voice, and wished now more than ever that she could speak to someone from Storybrooke, speak to someone who understood.

'Excuse me?' the queen said loudly, turning her eyes back to Emma.

'I... I know it's a lot to take in. But I do, I know you, and I know that you'd help me,' Emma said desperately.  
Emma's eyes were locked with Regina's, and after a few moments Emma let them drop to look at the rest of the queen. She didn't understand anything, she just wanted real Regina, at least then she'd know where she stood.  
After a few moments of confusion on Regina's face, she started to laugh.

'Oh you poor dear!' she said, 'come with me.'  
The queen walked over to Emma and grabbed one of her arms to help her up, which made Emma feel a jolt in her stomach - why was Regina touching her arm and helping her stand up? Emma then realised Regina just thought she was a little drunk.

'Oh, I'm not that drunk, just tipsy, I can walk, thanks,' Emma said, looking right at Regina, who was stood under a meter away, but now letting go. Emma could now see clearly the immaculate makeup and flawless beauty of the queen, the black around her eyes done so she always had an 'evil' look about her, her lips plump with a perfect pout.

'Then follow me,' the queen ordered, walking in front of Emma out of the room.  
Emma did as she said and followed, hoping that she would be taken anywhere but the cell she was kept in previously.  
After walking for a few minutes in silence, they finally entered one of the many rooms in the castle. Upon entering Emma's heart starting to pound once more, 'is this your room?'

The queen laughed, 'of course not, you think I'd let strays into my bedroom? No, this is where you shall stay for the night. I've found enough kindness in my heart to provide you with a bed.'

'Why the kindness?' Emma asked, looking at the queen.  
Regina leaned her head towards Emma's, so that they were mere inches apart, coldness entering her voice, 'because I pity you.'  
Emma felt a pang in the pit of her stomach; that hurt her. Out of all the emotions Regina had felt for Emma, she had never felt them sting as hard as pity did. She wanted Regina to at least put up a fight, at least then Emma would know Regina saw her as somewhat equal, but then it dawned on Emma - she saw herself as the queen. She _was_ the queen; Emma was nothing to her. So then, why had she taken her in and provided her with refreshments and a comfortable place to stay, Emma wondered.  
Emma stared hard at the queen, this time regaining some of her lost confidence. She tried to see beneath the queen and find some part of the Regina she knew.

'Okay. Well then, your majesty,' Emma mocked, 'I'll be getting to bed.'  
Emma strolled into her room, knowing Regina was watching her. Her head was still spinning, but she knew she could at least keep her cool, and so she pulled off her boots, flung them to the side of the bed, and sat. The queen was still looking in, frowning.

'I never got the full story of where you were from,' the queen said coolly, and Emma now knew she was trying to act as if she didn't care.

'What does it matter,' Emma shrugged, now taking off her red leather jacket to reveal a black tank top.

The queen let out a laugh, 'I will make sure a guard will bring you supper, and in the morning you are to tell me your full story, and then you will leave my castle and get back to... whatever the hell you were doing.'  
The queen slammed the door shut, and Emma was left, only this time around she was fully conscious and could feel every second of time. She knew she would get bored very quickly, so she took off her jeans and climbed into bed, hoping sleep would come soon enough.  
It was as soon as Emma finally started to drift off, around 45 minutes later, when she heard the door creak open.

'Your supper,' the guard said, placing what looked like soup and a cup of water down on the table beside the bed.  
Emma couldn't resist. Taking the guard by surprise, she leaped up to kick his face, then his groin, and pushed him onto the bed. He was too shocked to retaliate quickly enough to stop Emma from running out the room and locking him inside. As soon as she did so, she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Now, she needed to find the queen, and this time she would do the demands. She was getting out of here, and Regina was going to help her. Only then did Emma realise she'd left her boots, jeans and jacket in room, and was therefore only wearing the black tank top and black french knickers. 'Fuck.'


End file.
